Speech #960106024

Illinois. New York and Minnesota. in that order. The fact is no one really knows where all the Indochina refugees actually live. No Federal agency has conducted a census of refugees. There is reason to believe that as many as 100.000 live in California and not where HEW assumes they live. The California Department of Social Services does know that 43.000 Indochina refugees presently receive cash assistance. If my States "official" refugee population is accurate. over 67 percent of the refugees in California are on welfare. A shocking statistic. However. I have reason to believe that the refugee population in California is much higher than generally reported by official sources. The majority of these refugees on assistance actually work. But they work at menial jobs at minimum wages with which they attempt to support families often numbering in excess of ten persons. It cannot be done. Therefore. they receive supplemental cash assistance. Most of these 43.000 welfare refugees arrived before September 30. 1977. according to the State. The direct result of the committee bill will be to shift a substantial portion of their cash and medical assistance subsidy onto State and local taxpayers. It will still be paid. It will just be a shift as to who pays it. The longterm consequences of this shift can be better appreciated when we look at data from Los Angeles County which show that the average refugee case has been on the welfare rolls for more than 30 months while the average domestic welfare case has been on the rolls for only 22 months. This implies that the refugees are not becoming economical selfsufficient as originally expected. It also implies that as new refugees enter the country we can expect a substantial percentage to go immediately onto some form of welfare assistance. The amendment I am offering with Senator HAYAKAWA is intended to give the States 1 year to increase and strengthen their social service programs to refugees. The committee bill generously provides an open authorization without a time limit for appropriations to fund social services provided by State and local governments to refugees. Clearly. this money needs to be utilized aggressively by the States to train and educate refugees to become selfsufficient. The California legislature under the leadership of Speaker Leo McCarthy is accepting new responsibility for legislative oversight of State social service programs to refugees. Hearings by the Health Subcommittee. chaired by Assemblyman Art Torres. will be held in Los Angeles the week of September 17. I am confident these efforts will produce good results in California. By relieving States and local governments of extra welfare costs. my amendment assures that earlier refugees will not be discriminated against in favor of the newcomers. The costs of our amendment will be $110 million in 1980. Unless job and language training programs are very successful.